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Otter Creek Golf Club
by Tom Krekeler
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1319 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2003-07-22 |
25,430,198 bytes |
72 |
7252 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
REAL |
PARKLAND |
Otter Creek.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by
Jon Weinrieb
August 2003
BASICS: Otter Creek is real, parkland-style course in Columbus, Indiana, brought to us for Links 2003 by Tom Krekeler. Included: a cameo, splash screen (overhead from APCD), read me file, custom flags, sounds. No hole previews. The course sports five sets of tees (7,252; 6,877, 6,543; 5,914; 5,680) and plays to a par of 72. File size: approx. 24MB.
INTRODUCTION: This is Tom's fourth go with the APCD and, although he still has some learning to do, his improvement is obvious -- and incremental: Western Hills G.C. (August 2001 -- 58 points); Patriot Hills G.C.; (December 2001 -- 68 points); Bay View (March 2002 -- 78 points). This is his first attempt with APCD 1.5. There is no doubt that if he keeps at it, Tom now has the basic skills to be a great designer. The real Otter Creek has three separate nines and, as Tom tells us in his read me file, this Links release is his 'interpretation of the north and west nines.' Having never played Otter Creek in real life, it is difficult to tell how much poetic license Tom employed with his rendition and exactly how much creativity is exhibited throughout the course. Overall, the course is nicely done and I recommend it.
APPEARANCE: Tom captures very well the feeling of a Midwest parkland-style course. Yet because he chose not to employ many high-res textures, there is an unnecessary loss of realism to the grasses that really holds this one back from being a top course. The stock, striped fairways (unmapped), for example, do not really do much for the course, nor do the bright green fringes that fail to jibe with the softer shades chosen for the fairways, greens and rough. The bunker-rough transitions are seam blended, but the mappings are not great and result in a jagged-edge look. Additionally, the repetition of the ubiquitous cloned trees becomes tiresome after a few holes. Moreover, there are several trees that are so bright green as to really stick out as unrealistic. These were poorly chosen for the surroundings. One of the better techniques Tom employs, though, is the use of very large trees for a great shadowing effect on and around most greens. They give the course a nice late-afternoon feel to it when you're on the greens and provide a pleasant ambience for the round. In general, better texturing, seam blending, mappings and more effort toward really utilizing the full capacity of APCD 1.5 would have been nice to see. But overall, the look of the course is quite nice, no glaring errors jumped out, and it is more or less a pleasant course to look at. The par3s -- particularly the 4th, which challenges a large lake -- are gorgeous.
PLAYABILITY: Despite the sturdy 7,252 yards, Otter Creek is a fairly easy course and birdie opportunities abound. For example, generous landing areas off the tee allow the player to rip it. The greens are quite playable and break softly in most places, allowing better putters to drop a lot of putts. Three of the four par 5s are reachable and the par 4s are not terribly long by modern-day standards -- in fact, the short par-4 second is reachable from the tee. The course features gentle doglegs, water in many places, and strategic bunkering that does make the player think before teeing off. Also, the water hazards really demand caution, as they are perfectly placed to wreak havoc on your round. The course, on the whole, is quite fair and enjoyable to play and is a nice respite from some of the monsters being released lately where par is an excellent score. For those who like birdies, Otter Creek is for you.
BOTTOM LINE: I recommend this course to everyone. It is fun, nicely crafted and fair. You will enjoy your times at Otter Creek and, for 24 MB, it is quite an economical download.
OVERALL RATING: Top 25% (Based on playability, APCD technical merit, appearance, and realism).
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